"I want to be an environmentalist, but the consumer in me won't let me." This blog is for those of us who don't intentionally want to hurt the environment, but we don't know how not to (brown thumbs). It's also an informational place where brown thumbs can get a little greener through small steps.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Electric Boogie

In the wonderful spirit of environmentalism, Chevrolet has taken a major step by developing the first US produced electric car, the Chevy Volt. The Chevy Volt boost a fuel economy of 230 miles per gallon! OMG!!!! Let me just put this in prospective for you all. This car gets on 2 GALLONS of gas what a Civic (which is a very fule efficient car) gets on an entire tank! The car also gets 40 miles without any gas and a full electric charge!

When I saw the Volt debut I almost cried. OK, that's going a little too far, but I was very proud for a couple reasons.

1. This is an American made car. For the past 20 years American made motors have been out smarted and out sold by the likes of Honda and Toyota. The fact that an American car company has taken on the idea of going green in a way that far surpasses foreign automakers is wonderful because it shows that we, as a country, are getting on board globally with environmental protection.

2. The economy is bad and people in the automotive industry have seen it most. With people world wide becoming more environmentally conscious maybe this will boost sales for Chevy and bring jobs back to America.

3. Dude, could you imagine putting $5 worth of gas in your tank and it lasting you for 2 weeks! This car can save us sooooo much money! And even though the final cost of the Volt has not been publicized, it's estimated it will cost around $21,000, which is less than a Camry or any other car in it's class.

Overall, the Chevy Volt is a win win for the US and the environment. Now, as with anything there will be some issues with the first generation of Volts. However, given the current state of the economy and the environment, I think it's worth more than a test drive.

Brown TipI'm Thirsty!Did you know plastic water bottles are beginning to surpass newspaper as one of the most recycled materials? This might sound nice but wants would be even nicer is if we would use bottles that can be reused (like reuseable plastic bottles or reusable aluminum bottles) or get a Britta or Pur water filter. To reduce the amount of materials going to be recycled which reducing whats going to landfills, we take going green a step further.